“We used to fool ourselves…We used to think our content was perfect just exactly as it was. We expected our business would remain blissfully unaffected even as the world of interactivity, constant connection and file sharing was exploding. And of course we were wrong. How were we wrong? By standing still or moving at a glacial pace, we inadvertently went…
Year two of the lower school Take One Picture project* and the picture is (drumroll please): Fantasy Castle with Men on Zebras by Squire Vickers. Vickers was the Chief Designing Architect of the New York subway system from 1906 to 1942 and an avid painter. Engineering fascinated him and he saw the massive structures of modern cities as feats of…
Here’s an interesting (but not surprising) twist on the ubiquitous social networking and web 2.0. Students in the UK are telling universities to leave them alone and keep out of sites like MySpace and Facebook. Stay out of MySpace. Seems like they are objecting to social networking being co-opted for academic content and communication. “Students really do want to keep…
NAIS is working on a PGP (Principles of Good Practice) for Global Citizenship. Here is a draft. They are seeking feedback, questions and responses as they work toward a final version to be added to their other PGPs. Twenty-first century independent schools shape student experiences in ways that encourage global awareness and instill a compassionate, respectful understanding of other peoples…
“It’s the teachers….” I refrain from adding the usual last word to that phrase because it seems unnecessarily rude but, surprise, surprise: Top quality teachers are the key factor in making a difference to quality education and top performing schools worldwide. This is according to this recent and extensive report (pdf) on education systems worldwide and the factors that make…
Ten Trends: educating children for tomorrow’s world An article in the Journal of School Improvement a while back examined ten major trends and looked at the challenges they present for schools. The author, Gary Marx, begins with this ringing statement: The status quo is a ticket to obsolescence. Why? Because the world around us is in motion, changing at dizzying…
Halloween and time for some fun. It’s one thing to talk about the importance of school community and quite another to devote time and resources to making that talk walk. The ASA – all school activities, a cross divisional group – planned this afternoon’s event. It brought together all ages from kindergarten to the twelfth grade. They worked in groups…
There’s a good article in the latest Educational Leadership: “The Perils and Promise of Praise”. It’s by Carol Dweck. The wrong kind of praise creates self-defeating behavior. The right kind motivates students to learn. We often hear these days that we’ve produced a generation of young people who can’t get through the day without an award. They expect success because…
We had a well-attended college information evening for ninth and tenth grade families last week. Ninth and tenth grade is not time to focus on college but it is time to be assured that “It’s not time to worry yet”. The early years of high school are about focusing on getting involved with academics and all the other aspects of…
“The incentives I took as an insult. I didn’t think motivation was needed. It was not the right thing for me, not the right thing for my players.” – Joe Torre, turning down an offer to continue as manager of the NY Yankees. I am not much of a fan of professional sports* but I was struck by Joe Torre’s…
Who’s zooming whom? New kids on the block received a warm welcome last week. Daisy and Clover – five months old – were the center of attention. Even the middle school Japanese theater class could not resist a visit.
Disintermediation – one of those wonderful baggy words that only yields up any meaning after being dismembered into constituent parts, if at all. Or perhaps a word like a string of railway carriages shuttling along clanking and rattling over the rail bed. The word is most usually applied in the field of marketing and economics where it refers to the…
“You must do the things you think you cannot do” Stone Cottage One of the great things about Poughkeepsie is that you are always in striking distance of so many places to visit and things to do. One of them is Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt’s home in Hyde Park – the only place she referred to as home. The grander Roosevelt…
Colleges that Change Lives is the title of Loren Pope’s very useful book for those planning for college. It’s also a website. If you are off to college soon, or know someone who is, then take a look. It is particularly useful in dispelling some of the myths of excellence. As with many things, it is important to dig a…
Gnome update: See Gnome Eruptions or scroll for the original story and commentary There were no further eruptions reported yesterday at PDS. However, I received today the following photographic evidence of garden variety gnome eruptions in London: